Car coupler



June 10, 1941. w. J. METZGER 2,245,043

UAR COUPLER Filed Nov. 16, 1938 s Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR my]. .1 Melzer ATTORNEY June 1() 1941. w. J. MEITZGER CAR COUPLER Filed Nov. 16,1938 38heets-Sheet 2 M um 0 M5 W W 2 1 m June 10, 1941. w, E' 2,245,043

CAR COUPUER Filed NOV. 16, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR mllwmJMelz eraw 6d. W

\ ATTORNEY Patented June 10, 1941 UNiTE P'E'EN =97 FFHCE CAR COUPLERApplication November 16, 1938, Serial No. 240,679

Claims.

This invention pertains to car couplers and particularly to improvementsin the type of coupler disclosed in Bazeley application Serial No.53,012, filed December 5, 1935, now issued as Patent No. 2,178,062, Oct.31, 1939.

An object of th invention is to improve the operation of the couplerduring uncoupling movements so as to eliminate binding in the contoursuch as would retard separation of the couplers.

The particular problem involved and the solution thereof whichconstitutes the resent invention may be more clearly understood from thefollowing description and drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view in horizontal section through a pair of couplersembodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the longitudinal and lateralmovement, during uncoupling, of couplers with and without my invention.

Figure 3 is a view of the contour of a pair of couplers as they weremade previous to my invention.

Figure 4 is a view of the contour of a pair of couplers embodying myinvention; and

Figure 5 is a plan View of la. knuckle showing the old and new contours.

In Fig. 1 there is shown a pair of couplers in coupled position eachhaving a knuckle l pivoted at 2 and adapted to be held rigid with thecoupler head 3 by means of a lock 4. The couplots are mounted on the carstructure in the usual manner so as to allow some pivotal movement ofthe coupler. The knuckle noses l2 are shown inte locked, and the bufiingface I of each knuckle, which face is substantially perpendicuiar to thelongitudinal axis of the coupler, is engaged with the buffiilg face 8 ofthe opposing coupler head. Adjacent face i the contour of each knuckleslopes rearwardly, as at 9, and merges into the contour of the knucklenose l2. The knuckle on the coupler at the right of Fig. 1 is shown indot-dash lines in open position. Each coupler is formed at one side witha recess 5 and at the other side with a projection 6 adapted to enterthe recess of the opposing coupler to guide the two into coupledposition.

It has been found in tests of full size couplers, of the type shown inthe aforesaid Bazeley application, that separation of two couplers issometimes retarded by reason of the contours binding in each other. Thiscondition is illustrated in Fig. 3, which shows two couplers with oldcontours partially separated. Coupler A is locked with its knuckle Illheld rigid with respect to its coupler head, and in coupler B the lockhas been raised to permit knuckle II to swing outwardly to effectuncoupling. In the position shown in Fig. 3, which I call the criticalposition, the knuckle i8 is in contact with the tail l3 of knuckle H atpoint i i, which is substantially at the juncture of bufilng face i andrearwardly sloping surface s; at the same time the knuckle hoses are incontact at point i5. Since the knuckles are in effect wedged intocontact at points it and [5, further movement of knuckle it about itspivot is practically impossible. Knuckle ii and its associated couplercannot rotate about point it since there are overlapping portions of thenoses of the knuckles, as shown by. the arc aa drawn through point i5with point it as a center. The metal at it, between are aa and the outerface of the nose of knuckle it, it will be observed, overlaps metal atll between arc Ctr-0t and the outer face of the nose of knuckle ll hencethe aforesaid movement about point i l cannot take place.

The only way the two couplers can separate is by movement generally inthe direction of the line :c$, which is drawn tangent to the knucklenoses at point l5. However, line ar--x is almost perpendicular to thelongitudinal center line c--c of the coupler, and, therefore,considerable lateral movement between the couplers would have to takeplace upon very little longitudinal separation thereof. The frictionbetween the contacting surfaces may be very great due to the wedgingengagement of the two knuckles, and separation thereof is sometimesretarded to such an extent as to make this condition objectionable.

Since the principal feature of this type of coupier is the tight contourthrough which slack is eliminated in coupled couplers, the aforesaiddifficulty had to be overcome, if at all, without loosening the contourin such a manner as would destroy the advantage of the tight contour. Ihave found that by increasing the relative lateral separation of thecouplers and increasing the outward pivotal movement of the knucklebefore the critical point is reached, the noses of the knuckles canreadily slide past each other and along a line tangent to the noses atthe point of contact that is at a substantially lesser angle to thelongitudinal center line of the coupler than in the couplers as theywere before the dif-' ilculty was discovered. In my invention there isno possibility of one knuckle becoming wedged in the contour of theopposing knuckle during the uncoupling operation.

In Fig. the old and the new contours are superimposed on the sameknuckle, the old being in dot-dash lines and the new in solid lines. Itwill be seen that metal has been added to and removed from the formerknuckle tail pulling face. I have found that the new contour, formed bychanging the 3 /2 radius as shown in Fig. 5 to and drawing the lattertangent to the 2 radius and also tangent to a line that is parallel tothe dot-dash line representing the former construction but spaced Atherefrom, will increase the amount of lateral separation of thecouplers as well as the amount of outward pivoting of the knuckle beforethe critical point aforementioned is reached So as to effect smoothuncoupling. The other dimensions of the knuckle face and nose remain thesame as on the old knuckle.

Referring to Fig. 4 in which knuckle l of coupler A is locked whileknuckle l of coupler B is unlocked, the effect of the new contour isclearly shown. Movement of the knuckle of coupler B up to its positionshown has taken place smoothly, and in this position the two knucklenoses are in contact at point [5' while the tail of the knuckle ofcoupler Bis in engagement with the knuckle of coupler A at point M,which again is substantially at the juncture of buffing face 7 withrearwardly sloping surface 9. By scribing an arc a'a through point i5,using point M as a pivot point, it will be observed that the arc doesnot pass through any portion of the nose of knuckle A or B. t will benoted that the distance between points it and I5 is at least as great asthe distance from point I4 to any other point on the contour of thenoseof the knuckle of coupler A. Moreover, the distance from l4 to It isno greater than the distance from I4 to points on the contour of thenose of the knuckle of coupler B adjacent point l5. Therefore, neitherknuckle will tend to cut into the nose of the other knuckle whenuncoupled further. The line xa: drawn tangent to the knuckle noses atthe point of contact [5 is now at a substantially smaller angle to thelongitudinal center line c' c and by reason thereof, the knuckles can beeasily and smoothly moved past each other to uncoupled position. It willbe noted that during the process of uncoupling it is the purpose of thenew contour to first produce a greater lateral displacement of thecouplers than provided by the old contour, and after a sufficientseparation has been effected, the opening knuckle is permitted to pivotoutwardly so as to reach the positionshown in Fig. 4. Both the greaterinitial separation of the couplers and the increased pivotal movement ofthe opening knuckle contribute to produce smooth uncoupling of couplersconstructed in accordance with my invention.

To illustrate graphically the relative movement of the couplers duringthe uncoupling operation, there is shown in Fig. 2 the path of thecenter of the knuckle pivot pin, of the coupler having its lock liftedto permit opening of its knuckle, as the couplers are uncoupled. Thefull line represents the path of the pin of a coupler having a newcontour and the dot-dash line represents the same for a coupler havingthe old contour. Lateral movement of the couplers is represented bydistances perpendicular to the base line, while longitudinal movement isrepresented by distances along the base line. Starting at point F, whichrepresents the position of the pin when both knuckles are closed, itwill be observed that at the start of uncoupling, the lateral separationof the couplers is the same for both the old and new contours. However,as longitudinal movement progresses, the new contour line passes abovethat of the old, thus showing that a greater lateral separation occurs.With the old contour the critical point is at J which corresponds to theposition of the knuckle as shown in Fig, 3. It will be noted thatimmediately after point J the lateral displacement of the old contourcouplers increases very rapidly, and it is this greater lateral movementnecessary upon small longitudinal movement which retards uncoupling. Nowreferring to the new contour line it will be seen that, at the time theold contour knuckles are at the critical point J or as shown in Fig. 3,the new contour knuckles are moving past each other in a directionsubstantially parallel to the longitudinal movement of the couplers, andno point that might be critical is reached until point H. However, atpoint H the knuckles are in the position as shown in Fig. 4, and as hasbeen previously explained, further disengagement of the couplers may bereadily accomplished. With the new contours the lateral displacement ofthe couplers is more even throughout the uncoupling period than with theold contours, and more nearly approaches a straight line movement.

The terms and expressions which I have employed are used as terms ofdescription and not of limitation, and I have no intention, in the useof such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of thefeatures shown and described or portions thereof, but recognize thatvarious modifications are possible within the scope of the inventionclaimed.

What I claim is:

1. A car coupler having a pivotally mounted knuckle shaped to cooperatewith the knuckle and coupler face of another coupler of similar shape intight fitting engagement, with the inner surfaces of the knucklesinterlocked with each other, and with the knuckle bufiing faces engagingthe opposing coupler buffing face, said first named knuckle having arearwardly extending tail, said tail having a surface adapted to engagethe bufiing face of the knuckle of said opposing coupler upon pivotalmovement of said first named knuckle during uncoupling, said surfacebeing of such configuration that during uncoupling said couplers will bemoved laterally relative to each other an amount sufiicient to preventthe knuckle of one coupler from binding between the knuckle nose andtail of an opposing coupler, the contour of said tail being comprised ofa 1" radius centered {2,-" from the center line of the coupler on thesame side thereof as the pivot for said knuckle, a 2 radius tangent tosaid 1" radius and centered 1%" from the coupling line of said couplerat apoint below the nose of the knuckle, a 10" radius tangent to said 2radius centered 2% from said coupling line on the side thereof oppositeto the centers of said first named radii, and a line tangent to said 10"radius and positioned at an angle of 37 to the center line of thecoupler.

2. A car coupler having a pivotally mounted knuckle shaped to cooperatewith the knuckle and coupler face of another coupler of similar shape intight fitting engagement, with the inner surfaces of the knuckle nosesinterlocked with each other, said knuckle having a buffing surfacesubstantially perpendicular to the longitudinal center line of saidcoupler and a surface adjacent said buffing surface sloping rearwardlytherefrom toward the nose of said knuckle, the inner surfaces of thenoses of said knuckles being in engagement upon pivotal movement of saidfirst named knuckle during uncoupling of said couplers, said first namedknuckle having a tail with a surface adapted to engage the opposingknuckle substantially at the juncture of said sloping and buffingsurfaces of said opposing knuckle during uncoupling of the couplers,said tail surface having a configuration such that upon the saidengagement thereof with said opposing knuckle the distance from saidpoint of engagement to the point of contact between said knuckle nosesis at least as great as the distance from said point of engagement toany other point on the contour of the nose of said opposing knuckle, andthe configuration of said tail surface being such that during separationof two couplers there will be free rolling contact between said tailsurface and the bufling surface of the opposing knuckle.

3. A car coupler having a pivotally mounted knuckle shaped to cooperatewith the knuckle and coupler face of another coupler of similar shape intight fitting engagement, with the inner surfaces of the knuckle nosesinterlocked with each other, said knuckle having a buffing surfacesubstantially perpendicular to the longitudinal center line of saidcoupler and a surface adjacent said bufiing surface sloping rearwardlytherefrom toward the nose of said knuckle, the inner surfaces of thenoses of said knuckles being in engagement upon pivotal movement of saidfirst named knuckle during uncoupling of said couplers, said first namedknuckle having a tail with a surface adapted to engage the pposingknuckle substantially at the juncture of said sloping and buffingsurfaces of said opposing knuckle during uncoupling of the couplers,said tail surface being constructed and arranged to separate saidcouplers laterally relative to each other during uncoupling, such anamount that upon the aforesaid engagement the distance from said pointof engagement to the point of contact between said knuckle noses is atleast as great as the distance from said point of engagement to anyother point on the contour of the nose of said opposing knuckle, and theconfiguration of said tail surface being such that during separation oftwo couplers there will be free rolling contact between said tailsurface and the buffing surface of the opposing knuckle.

4. A car coupler having a pivotally mounted knuckle shaped to cooperatewith the knuckle and coupler face of another coupler of similar shape intight fitting engagement, with the inner surfaces of the knuckle nosesinterlocked with each other, said knuckle having a bufiing surfacesubstantially perpendicular to the longitudinal center line of saidcoupler and a surface adjacent said buffing surface sloping rearwardlytherefrom toward the nose of said knuckle, the inner surfaces of thenoses of said knuckles being in engagement upon pivotal movement of saidfirst named knuckle during uncoupling of said couplers, said first namedknuckle having a tail with a surface extending diagonally rearwardly andterminating with a lock engaging surface extending parallel to thelongitudinal axis of said coupler, portions of said tail surfaceforwardly of said lock engaging surface being adapted to engage theopposing knuckle to force the couplers laterally apart, and said tailsurface being engageable with the opposing knuckle substantially at thejuncture of said sloping and buiiing surfaces of said opposing knuckleduring uncoupling of the couplers, said tail surface having aconfiguration such that upon the said engagement thereof with saidopposing knuckle the distance from said point of engagement to the pointof contact between said knuckle noses is no greater than the distancefrom said point of engagement to points on the nose of said first namedknuckle adjacent the point of engagement between said knuckles, and theconfiguration of said tail surface being such that during separation oftwo couplers there will be free rolling contact between said tailsurface and the bufling surface of the opposing knuckle.

5. A car coupler having a pivotally mounted knuckle shaped tocooperate-with the knuckle and coupler face of another coupler ofsimilar shape in tight fitting engagement, with the inner surfaces ofthe knuckle noses interlocked with each other, said knuckle having abufiing surface substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline of said coupler and a surface adjacent said buffing surface slopingrearwardly therefrom toward the nose of said knuckle, the inner surfacesof the noses of said knuckles being in engagement upon pivotal movementof said first named knuckle during uncoupling of said couplers, saidfirst named knuckle having a tail with a surface extending diagonallyrearwardly and terminating with a lock engaging surface extendingparallel to the longitudinal axis of said coupler, portions of said tailsurface forwardly of said lock engaging surface being adapted to engagethe opposing knuckle to force the couplers laterally apart, and saidtail surface being engageable with the opposing knuckle substantially atthe juncture of said sloping and buffing surfaces of said opposingknuckle during uncoupling of the couplers, said tail surface having aconfiguration such that upon the said engagement thereof with saidopposing knuckle the distance from said point of engagement to the pointof contact between said knuckle noses is at least as great as thedistance from said point of engagement to any other point on the contourof the nose of said opposing knuckle, and such that the distance fromsaid point of engagement to the point of contact between said knucklenoses is no greater than the distance from said point of engagement topoints on the nose of said first named knuckle adjacent the point ofengagement between said knuckle noses, and the configuration of saidtail surface being such that during separation of two couplers therewill be free rolling contact between said tail surface and the buffingsurface of the opposing knuckle.

WILLIAM J. METZGER.

